Give These Less-Known Web Browsers A Try

Apple’s Safari, Google’s Chrome, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla’s Firefox are the undisputed kings of the Web browser market, but did you know there are even more options out there? Well there are, and while all of them share a lot of common features, each has some little extras that none of the others do.

Take a look through and see if any of them resonate with you as your next browser of choice, and if you’re a Web developer, you can never have too many browsers at the ready for testing your latest creations.

Mac Web Browsers

Camino: Based on the Gecko engine, Camino is an open source project that lives by the tag line, “Mozilla Power, Mac Style”. The browser features the ability to see all of your tabs in a graphical representation at a glance, built-in ad & Flash blocking, notifications of downloads and more.

iCab: Built on the popular WebKit, iCab is available for free as “nag ware” that will remind you to register and upgrade to pro which costs $20/15 EUR. There are also versions offered for the iPhone and iPod Touch. As for features, you can filter ads, check the HTML5 coding of any page you visit, save entire Web pages as ZIP files for easy movement between devices and a lot more.

OmniWeb: Another browser built on the WebKit system, OmniWeb is developed by the Omni Group. Features of this browser include workspaces where you can store collections of web pages to share with others, auto-save entire browsing sessions, ad blocking and a lot more.

Shiira: The Japanese get on the WebKit building love with the open source Shiira browser. The groups objective is “to create a browser that is better and more useful than Safari.” While it does look lik a slick browser, there has been no stable release since 2007, so tread carefully with this option.

Multi-Platform Web Browsers

Flock: Flock is built on Gecko and will run on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and BSD. While considered an offshoot of the Firefox project, the major difference with Flock is that it is heavily focused on incorporating a social networking, Web app integration and more into the browser environment.

Konqueror: Konqueror is a part of the K Desktop Environment, and can be used for file management as well as being a Web browser. but is also can be used with the Unix systems, Mac OS X and is finally coming out for Windows systems.

Opera: Opera is a popular browser built on the Presto engine, but even with some popularity it only enjoys a single digit share in the browser market. There are smaller versions of the browser that are utilized in devices such as the Wii and Nintendo DS. It offers features such as data synchronization, in-line spell checking, mouse gestures and more.

SeaMonkey: SeaMonkey is an all-in-one internet application suite in the Mozilla family. Besides just being a browser it also includes email, an HTML editor, a news reader and more.

Windows Web Browsers

Avant: Besides claiming to be the fastest web browser,Avant is available in 41 languages and has been downloaded over tens of millions of times. Using the Trident layout engine makes it compatible with Internet Explorer toolbars and plugins so you can continue to use your favorite tools. Built-in features include online profile storage that will allow you to log-in to your account from work and home, mouse gestures, auto-fill forms, RSS reader, ad blocking and a lot more.

K-Meleon: K-Meleon is based on the Mozilla Gecko engine that also powers Firefox. It is built around the concept of being lightweight and integrating tightly with the visual look of your Windows settings.

Maxthon: Maxthon is built in China, but it has gained a bit of a cult following in other parts of the world. Maxthon currently runs on the Trident engine, but version 3, which is currently under alpha testing, will run both Trident and WebKit. Features include built-in ad blocking, undo for closed tabs, multi-user support, support for extensions and a lot more.

Sleipnir: Sleipnir is built in Japan where it has been gaining a lot of popularity. It features a heavy focus on customization that allows the user to create a browser that fits their specific needs. It is based around the Trident engine and features plugins, tabs, customizable skins and a lot more.